When asked recently to pick his "Rock God," Korn's Jonathan Davis didn't hesitate: Ozzy. "I love the fact about Ozzy, when you hear him sing, you know it's Ozzy in two seconds. ... I love his voice. I love the minor melodies that he did," Davis raved.
Indeed, while his wild-man antics and quotable quips often steal the spotlight, the Prince of Fucking Darkness does have a stunning, haunting, unique and instantly recognizable voice. So we asked you to pick his greatest vocal performance, from Sabbath to his solo career and beyond — and no, his song with Post Malone did not make the cut.
Below see the top five vote-getters.
5. "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath"
There are few songs heavier than "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath," and if you don't listen to Ozzy's deeply felt voice on the cut and feel something, you don't like metal. Period.
4. "Mr. Crowley"
"Mr. Crowley" is a sprawling paean to an occult hellraiser, so Ozzy's disparate, enchanting delivery filtered through an unearthly, wavering effect is at once the perfect mix of chilly, charismatic and crushing.
3. "Hole in the Sky"
The reverb-soused sound of classic Black Sabbath tracks and, in particular, Ozzy's early performances is on full display on "Hole in the Sky." An unbeatable entry in their catalog, the cut shows off just how impassioned the young madman has always been, especially in the band's salad days.
2. "No More Tears"
Few of the Ozzman's solo tracks rock harder than "No More Tears," and Ozzy's calculated creepiness gives the song a sleazy, sexed-up edge that both fit the early 1990s time period and helped the singer come out of the Eighties still on fucking top.
1. "Changes"
"Changes" is an anomaly in Sabbath's riff-fueled catalog, and that gives Ozzy's delicately emotional vocal performance room to spread its wings and fly atop a ballad built on simply stunning piano and string parts.
